Microsoft's Vista PC Operating System Delayed

Microsoft's Receding Vista - The long-awaited operating system's release has been delayed. That's a blow to retailers, PC makers -- and the software giant's reputation according to a BusinessWeek Technology story today. Full Story . . . "Consumers who have waited patiently for years for the next upgrade of Microsoft's Windows operating system will have to wait a few months more. The company announced on Mar. 21 that Windows Vista, which has been more than five years in the making, will arrive for businesses in November, but won't be delivered for consumers until next January. " "Microsoft had been dogged in recent weeks by concerns among some of its business partners that the test version of Vista is a power hog -- quickly draining the batteries of laptop computers (see BW Online, 3/20/06, "Microsoft's Power Trip"). But Allchin, who has been in charge of Windows for more than a decade, says that was not the cause of the delay. "Microsoft has a sophisticated system for tracking progress on development projects, and he saw that the number of issues still to be resolved meant the software couldn't have been released in time for holiday sales. The sticking issues, he says, were ensuring new security features are easy enough to manage, plus testing of the system with new PC designs and add-on devices. "